Crystal Flower
by Hakuo and Kagami and Seiji
Summary: It was just another winter day in Gregminister, Ted had surprise for his best friend Tir, One Shot, Shounenai, TedTir, R&R please...


Rating: T

Genre: Romance/General

Summary: It's just another winter days in the Gregminister, and Ted had surprise for his friend. One shot, shounen-ai, Ted/Tir, R&R please….

Disclaimer: the characters and Gregminister belong to Konami. I don't know if anyone own crystal flowers, I made it up anyway… so I own it I guess…

**Crystal Flower**

It was another snowy day in Gregminister. In McDohl's household, Gremio, the servant, went upstairs. He knocked softly as he arrived in front of his young master's bed room. There's no answer. Gremio thought that maybe his young master still asleep, so he turn the knob and went inside. When he walked inside, he found that no one was there. The bed was clean and tidy. Caught in worry, Gremio ran downstairs and began shout crazily. This commotion woke Cleo and Pahn who was still asleep when Gremio hadn't woke them up.

"So what's happening here?" asked a sleepy Cleo as she made her way to the kitchen where she found Gremio walked back and forth, hand on his head, indicating that he was in the middle of frustration.

Pahn walked slowly after Cleo and looked half asleep, "Who dare to wake me up? I was about to eat the pizza before you woke me up?" he said, half angry and half sleepy.

"It's about master Tir! He's gone! Disappeared!" shouted a panicked Gremio.

"Wasn't he goes to Ted's this afternoon?" answered Cleo.

"Ted? Oh yeah right, Ted! Why don't I think about that?" Gremio said with less shout, and started to calm himself. "I will go pick him up. It almost dinner's time," Gremio quickly grabbed his cloak and walked to Ted's house which is not far from there.

"So, he just woke us up for that?" Pahn asked sleepily, "What a waste!"

"You know Gremio. Always get hyperbole about young master," said Cleo calmly. "I'll go and sat in the living room before dinner,"

"I'll go back to sleep,"

Cleo went to the living room and sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. A book was placed on her hands as she sat down and waited for Gremio and Tir came back for dinner. Pahn, as he mentioned before, went back to his room and continued his nap that Gremio had interrupted before.

In Ted's house, not his real house, he just borrowed it; Tir and Ted were in the middle of a deep conversation. They were sitting on Ted's bed with a glass of hot chocolate in their hands, helping them to get rid of the cold.

"So, are you sure about that?" Tir said after emptying his glass. He put the glass in the sink and washed it.

"Well, I think it is the best opportunity," Ted said, wearing his usual smiled.

"I think I will ask my dad about it. But, are you sure that it was safe? I mean in this weather?" Tir asked worriedly.

"I swear to you that I will take the responsible if anything happened. Beside I don't think something bad will happen. I mean the weather is not that bad and there's no sign about snowstorm. All animals must be in hibernating and no one will bother us. So… please say yes," Ted moved behind Tir and pulled the younger boy closer to his own body. He rested his chin on Tir's shoulder, holding his friend tightly.

"I told you before. Only if my father says yes,"

"Oh Tir I know you will come with me!" Ted said happily and kissed Tir's cheek gently, made the later blushed.

Tir just smiled at his friend. When he looked out at the window in front of him, he noticed someone in green cloak approached the front door of Ted's house. "Look like we got company,"

"What do you…" before Ted could finish his sentence, a soft knock can be heard from the front door. Ted quickly ran to the front door and opened it. From the other side of the door, Gremio stood. His green cloak flew behind him because of the wind. Snow dropped on the servant's hair and cloak. His face was full with worried.

"Is young master here?" Gremio asked.

"What are you doing here, Gremio?" Tir popped up behind Ted and looked at his servant.

"Oh, young master, why you didn't tell me that you will go to Ted's house, this afternoon? I was sick with worry!" Gremio rambled.

"Oh please, I'm big enough to go anywhere I want. Besides I did tell you before I go," Tir explained.

"Okay, but you will come for dinner, right?" asked Gremio.

"Nah, I will just go home now. You want to come?" Tir asked his friend.

"Sure, why not?" Ted said happily, "Besides I think it will be quite cold tonight, and I haven't collected any wood, so… I guess, I would like to sleep with you tonight Tir," Ted beamed. "Let me take my cloak and I will be with you in a moment," Ted ran back inside his house, grabbed his cloak, bow and arrow from a chair near his bed. Then he walked back to where Tir and Gremio waiting for him.

"Why you bring your weapon?" Tir asked.

"Just in case, you know, if something happened," Ted suggested.

"Oh right, whatever you say," Tir said in defeat. Sometimes, he didn't understand his friend's behavior. He can be so serious one time, and funny the next time. He could act weird too, just like what he did that time. '_What's the use of his bow anyway?_' Tir thought.

Soon, all of them were set on a short walk to McDohl household, which is just about a couple of minutes from Ted's house. The weather was much colder and tiny drops of snow fell silently from the cloudy sky. Tir let out a little shiver when they walked, which drew Gremio's attention to him.

"Are you alright, young master?"

"I'm fine, Gremio. Thanks for you concern though," Tir managed a small smile on his face.

"I will make you a glass of hot chocolate as soon as we arrived,"

As they reached McDohl's household, Tir and Ted quickly ran to fireplace in the living room to warm themselves, when Gremio made them hot chocolate. Cleo sat on a couch near the fireplace, reading a quite thick book. Pahn was no where to found which was mean he was still sleeping in his room. The boys had put off their cloak and gloves and put them carelessly on the floor near where they sat in front of the fireplace.

Gremio came to living room soon, carrying two glasses of chocolate and handed them to Tir and Ted who took them with a smile and mumbled 'thanks'. They took a little sip on their drink, let the hot liquid warm their cold body. Gremio then came with a blanket in his arms. He covered both boys with it, so they would feel warmer.

"What are you going to make for dinner?" Tir asked his servant.

"Just some nice hot soup to make up the weather, I think," answered the servant.

"Oh okay, I think we will wait in my room, right Ted?" Tir looked at his brunette friend who still drinking his cup.

"Oh sure, no problem,"

"I think it's settled then,"

Both Tir and Ted stood up. They placed their glasses on a near table, and then ran to Tir's room, which was upstairs. They carried their belongings with them and placed them on the floor, before they flopped down on Tir's soft bed.

"Is your father going home today? I heard the castle was quite busy right now," Ted said. He placed his arms on Tir's waist as the younger one moved closer to him.

"I don't know, he said he would come home for dinner,"

"You should asked him as soon as he came back, Tir," Ted pulled Tir closer to his body, so they can have more warmth.

"I will Ted, I will,"

Both boys just lay on the bed, snuggled to each other, seeking for warmth to fight the bad weather. Ted held Tir in his arms, as the other on had his head on Ted's chest. None of them said something; they just lay there and enjoyed each other company. Suddenly Ted kissed Tir's forehead lightly, brought the other one attention to him.

"Why did you do that?" asked a confused Tir.

"Why you asked? Maybe because you're too cute to resist," Ted said with his usual grinned.

"Oh Ted, stop teasing me already," Tir let out a small blushed on his cheek, made him cuter, at least to Ted, "I wonder if father had came home,"

"Go checked to his room. I'm sure he won't bite his own son," Ted said jokingly.

"There's no need to rush. I will talk to him after dinner, if he really came home,"

After a couple of minutes, a soft knocked can be heard from Tir's door, followed by Gremio's voice, "The dinner is ready, young master."

"Okay, we'll be there in a second," Both boys got up from Tir's bed and walked to the dining room, which was across Tir's room.

Inside the dining room, there sat Pahn and Cleo on one side, and Teo, Tir's father, on the other side. Tir took a seat next to his father, while Ted sat next to Cleo. Gremio then walked to the dining room, carrying a large bowl of hot soup in his hand. After set all the menu for the dinner, which was a hot egg roll for appetizer, chicken hot soup for main meal and pudding for dessert, Gremio sat down next to Pahn and the people began to start their dinner.

It was just a normal dinner with a little bit of chit-chat. Teo told them about the business in the castle, while the others were listening to him carefully. They talked about other things also, like how bad the weather tonight, or what they were going to do, etc.

After dinner was over, Tir followed his father and before Teo could step into his room, Tir spoke, "Can I talk to you for a moment, father?"

"What is it son?" Teo turned around to look at his son.

"Well, I want to go to the ruins this week, is that okay?" Tir asked nervously.

"With whom you will go?"

"Ted,"

"That's okay, I won't mind. Just don't go when there is a storm. Maybe a couple days will do," Teo answered.

"Thank you!" Tir beamed and hugged his father before ran back to his room, where Ted had waited for him.

"What did he say?" Ted asked from Tir's bed, where he laid down, hands behind his head.

"He said ok. We must wait for a couple days before the weather goes better," he answered. Tir walked to his bed and sat beside Ted's figure, which still lay on his back.

"Good,"

"Ted? Can I ask you something?" Tir bent his face down so his nose touched Ted's nose his hand on his side and he has a quite serious look on his face, which made Ted quite confused.

"What's bothering you?" Ted asked calmly.

"Why you always bandage your right hand? Did you hurt yourself or something?"

Ted looked at his own hand, seeing his right hand, which was bandaged from finger to near his elbow. Beneath the layer, lay the cursed rune, the Soul Eater that his Grandfather passed to him. "You could say that. It was a very long time ago," Ted didn't want Tir to know about his rune, so he decided to keep it a secret.

"Is it still hurt?" Tir moved his head from Ted's face. He took Ted's right hand in his and held it tightly.

"Yeah, sometimes, it brings back memories that I want to bury. That's why I bandaged it," Ted lied. It's not all lie anyway, since it really held the memories when his village burned by Windy.

"Can I see it?"

Ted just shook his head sadly, "I don't want you to see it. Believe me it's nothing interesting. Why don't you just drop the subject?"

"Okay, if that's what you want," Tir dropped Ted's hand and laid it beside his friend. "I think it's time for sleep now. Do you want me to blow off the candle now, or you still want to do anything else?"

"Just blow off the candle so we can get some sleep. I'm really tired," Ted kick off his boot and lay still.

Tir blew off the candle that lit his room, so only the pale light from the moon that lightened the room. Tir flopped down on his bed, before pulled the cover over their bodies, so it will shielded them from the chill air. He looked at his friend, who had his eyes closed but not sleep yet, and then bent down and kissed Ted's lips softly before snuggled to his friend.

Ted wrapped his arms around Tir, who already linked his arms around Ted's waist, and pulled the other boy closer to his chest, so they could share their body warmth. "Good night, Tir," Ted said to Tir who had already fell asleep in his friend's arms.

Ted just smiled and watched his friend slept. For Ted, Tir was the most important person in his life now. The young boy had been his only real friend in his life. Because of the rune in his right hand, Ted avoided making contact with people, but since Teo brought him to his new family, Ted started to open himself, getting tired of being self-concerned. Then he made friends with Teo's son, Tir, who always cheered him and play together with him. Sometimes, Ted afraid that the Soul Eater will take his friends and his new family, and make him becomes alone once more.

Ted felt Tir stirred in his sleep and tighten his grip around Ted's waist. He looked at the sleeping boy's face and smiled. Tir was so innocent when he was asleep, and he was very cute when he was awake. Ted stroke Tir's hair gently, playing with it for a moment. He enjoyed the feelings of that silky black hair in his fingers. After watched Tir for a long time, Ted felt a bit sleepy. He changed his position so he faced Tir. He gave Tir a little peck on his forehead, before falling asleep himself.

"Ted… how long it's far?" Tir asked his companion as they set on their journey to the abandoned ruins in the middle of the forest near Gregminister.

"I'm sure it won't be long. Come on, don't be such a baby," Ted teased him.

"I'm not a baby!"

Ted just laughed at that. They were now fighting hard to walk in the thick snow, which made Tir irritated. Ted in the other hand, didn't protest and kept walking in easiness. Luckily, Ted had been encountered this kind of situation in his 300 years wandering, so it wasn't hard for him, but it was not easy for young Tir.

Ted looked behind at Tir who still struggled at the snow. He halted for a moment, waiting for the younger one to catch up with him again. Seeing that Tir had a difficulty in the snow and quite tired, Ted sat down under a tree and waited for Tir to come.

"Why are you stopping?" Tir asked as he finally reached Ted's spot.

"I'm tired, let's eat something." Ted simply answered. He was not that hungry, but he just wanted to make an excuse to rest both of them.

"Okay," Tir sat on the snow beside Ted and opened his back pack. He pulled out two boxes of their lunch, one for Ted and one for himself. Gremio had made them egg rolls, chicken soup and meat ball. They ate in silence, and soon all the food were vanished. Tir packed up the boxes and put it back in his back pack.

"Let's continue, it's not far, I think," Ted said. He stood up and continued walking to the forest, Tir followed behind him.

It's not taken a long time for them to reach the outer part of the ruins. Tir looked around and found nothing on it. Snow blanketed the ground and the ruins. He walked to get inside the ruins, but Ted's arm stopped him. He looked at his friend in confusion.

"What?"

"Give me your bandana," Ted said.

"Huh?"

"Just give it,"

Tir nodded and gave the bandana that once covered his black hair to Ted. Ted walked behind him and brought the bandana to his face, covered his eyes. He took Tir's wrist and led the boy to the ruins.

"Where are we going?" Tir asked in confusion. He couldn't see anything except the darkness, so he just let himself dragged by Ted to wherever they're going.

Ted didn't say something, which made Tir felt a bit nervous, and continued to walk. They walked for a quite long time before, finally reached their destination. Ted released Tir's arm and opened the bandana that covered Tir's eyes, so the younger could see the view upon them.

Tir slowly opened his eyes and met a gorgeous site in front of him. They were stood in the middle of the inner ruins, but it wasn't the point. The point was the ground was not covered by snow, but instead it was covered by a light blue-like crystal flowers. Tir was caught in awe; this was the most beautiful sight that he had ever seen. He looked at Ted who smiled at him.

"Like what you see?" Ted asked him. "I found this a year ago when I got lost in the forest for days. I really wanted to show this to you the moment I came back to Gregminister, but I thought it will be beat to wait for another year, because this beautiful flowers only b loom in winter,"

"What's this flower?" Tir bent down and looked at the flower beneath him. He touched it with his gloved hand and caught in surprise to felt it hard petals.

"I think its name is was Crystal Flower. I read about it in a book in the library, said that this flower only bloom in winter and in only special ground where it contain whatever nutrition it need," Ted explained. He sat down beside the curios Tir who still played with a flower in front of him, "Beautiful, huh?"

"Ted, thank you for bring me to this beautiful site. I now understand why you want to bring me here," He threw his arms around Ted, stumbled both of them, to the ground. "Can we stay here all night?" Tir asked his friend beneath him, using his best puppy eyes to convince Ted.

"Sure, no problem, as long as you're happy,"

"I love you, Ted," Tir gave his friend a soft peck on the lips before walked around the beautiful garden and examined the flower.

Ted sat down and watched Tir as the other bent down on one site, his back facing him. He was so grateful that he met Tir; he really cared about the younger one. He never found someone as friendly as Tir before, or maybe he never cared to search one. When he met Tir, he felt his life was changed. He could be a better person that he was before. If yesterday he was a mean person with a bad attitude, today he was a quite nice and cheerful person. So many changes happened to him.

Sometimes, he missed his family. His village was small and all the people there had been like a family to him, but in one single night, nothing left except the Soul Eater in his right hand. He touched his gloved right hand slowly, as he was touched the rune mark beneath him. He never thought about telling anyone about it. What if they left him again like he was little? He sure didn't want to be left alone anymore, not again.

Ted was startled as he felt a hand shook his shoulder gently. He looked up and his eyes met Tir's green ones who looked at him with concerned. Surely there's no need to think about gloomy part of his life when he was with Tir.

"Is something wrong?" asked a concerned Tir. He had watched Ted for a moment, and saw how the other face changed into a sad tone. He didn't like it when his friend was sad, he wanted to do something to make Ted didn't feel bad for whatever past he had.

"Nothing to worry about, Tir," Ted managed to form a small smile on his face, "So are

You enjoy yourself?"

"Yes," Tir sat down next to Ted, and looked at his friend deeply, hoping that the other one would tell him for whatever things that bothering him. Seeing nothing came, he gave up on it and changed the subject, "Do you think we can plant this flower at home?"

"I don't think so. You know it needs a special condition of soil to grow, and I don't think back there in Gregminister we have that soil. Besides, if we have, the flower sure will grow in Gregminister, right?"

"You're right,"

Tir collapsed on the ground and looked at the starry sky above him. "It's night already? No wonder I felt a little colder,"

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The night's light made the flower sparkling,"

It's true, the flower was sparkling as the full-moon light shone upon it, made the sight more beautiful. Ted sighed and collapsed next to Tir. The later snuggled to him, seeking the warmth that radiated from his body. He simply smile and pulled the younger closer.

"It's very beautiful, more beautiful when you have someone you loved by your side," Tir blushed lightly as he said that. He sure loved his friend and loved him even more when he knew that his friend felt the same toward him.

"You're right,"

They enjoyed the moment their body pressed against each other, seeking warmth. The cold wind blew lightly over them, made them snuggled closer. Tir looked at his friend's face saw a serene beauty on it. He really loved it whenever he stared at Ted's honey eyes, especially when it was full with happiness.

Suddenly, Tir closed the gap between them and kissed Ted deeply. He linked his arms behind Ted's neck and moved his body so it was on top of Ted's. He licked his friend's lips, asking for entrance. Ted opened his mouth slightly, let Tir's tongue explore his mouth. He didn't bother to counter it, he just stay still, enjoyed the feelings that the other made. They broke the kissed as the need of air interrupted them. Their face flushed both from the lack of air and from the sensation they felt at the moment.

"That was quite… interesting. Where did you learn that?" Ted asked his friend, as Tir flopped down on top of Ted.

"It's a secret. I'll tell you if you tell me your secret, it's a deal,"

"Okay, whatever you say," Ted said to him. "I think we really need to go home now, if we wanted to catch dinner,"

"It's probably over now,"

"But, I'm hungry. Besides your father will be worried if you don't get home tonight,"

"But you said we could stay here all night,"

"Well, I changed my mind, I need to eat, and you need to go home. We can come back later anyway. This place won't disappeared,"

"Oh right,"

Both of them stood up, picked their stuff from the ground and walked out from the beautiful sight. Tir was disappointed at first, but like his friend said they could come back here any winter they want, if there's any winter for both of them. They walked back home in the cold night, with the sweet memory in their head.

3 years later, Tir McDohl, sat in the same spot as he was first came to the beautiful sight in the abandoned ruins, but today, he was sat alone. Ted had gone, leaving his Soul Eater in Tir's right hand. Many things happened and changed. But no matter what happened to him, he won't forget his sweet moment with his best friend and lover. As now he sat on the ground recalled those sweet memories.

"I love you Ted, now and forever,"


End file.
